Japan No. 12 Saori Kimura: If we'd lost today, we wouldn't have been able to go to the Final Round so the whole team was united and we showed this on the court and it was good to show this. Our service was really good and very effective in preventing them put together their usual attacks. Personally, I didn't play well so far, so in the Final Round I want to lead the team. Our teamwork is getting better day by day, so I want to keep this up. I hope this win will spur us on to play well in the final.

Japan No. 3 Yoshie Takeshita: We served very well today and were able to lead in each set.

Japan No. 5 Ai Yamamoto: The team's power was better than Russia's today, so we could win. Today's win brought us confidence and we want to continue working hard to play better volleyball.

(Re. effective serve in first set): There were two players who received serves and I tried to make a serve between two receivers.

Japan No. 9 Mizuho Ishida: All the players wanted to win today very strongly and that's why we could win.

(How did you feel on the bench in previous games): All I could do was cheer the team on, but I felt then as if I was on the court at that time. The coach told me to try my best today and I think I did that.

Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe: If we'd lost today we wouldn't have been able to make it to the Final Round, so we were able to concentrate on this game and I think that's why we were able to win the game.

(Which team is strongest?): I think we were in the toughest pool in the tournament, but at the moment I think Brazil is the strongest. We lost to USA and Serbia and my impression was they have power and height, but they are also starting to play faster.

(Why did you select Ishida instead of Ebata today?): I think Ebata is getting better and better but to beat Russia we needed fast players who can also play defence and who don't make mistakes. I thought to use Sakoda at first, but we needed to defend high blocks. So I decided to put on Ishida.

Russia coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin: At present, we are trying to use other members so it might be a difficult time for us, but that will pass. Also, we are without three top players, so we are not going to panic even though we lost. We are also trying to change our style of playing. In this situation it is hard to perform well, but as we're in transition, we are not going to worry.

Russia captain Maria Borisenko: We made many mistakes today but in three days in Tokyo we played well. We just want to do our best for the Final Round.